State of Ageing Modernism

Aniruddh Sharan on Brasília and São Paulo

Beautiful architecture, beautiful food and beautiful people - my trip to Brasilia and Sao Paulo was an incredibly sensorial experience. From getting to experience the iconic modernist spaces in Brasilia to engaging with everyday modernism in the bustling Sao Paulo, it really helped me grasp the different ways people associate and relate with the existing built environment. Much to my surprise, both Brasilia and Sao Paulo had a very distinct characteristic and despite the differences, the local population really seemed to be content and proud of their space. Here, Modernism didn’t feel like an exported language imposed upon them, but an extension of their own identity and lifestyle (best illustrated through the fluid interaction between indoor and outdoor spaces).

However, these buildings across scales and typologies were very visibly aging and one could observe constant repair work happening. While in Brasilia, much of this repair was intended to restore the past glory, Sao Paulo seemed to integrate the past in their present. Through multiple chance encounters and conversations over broken Portuguese and broken English, I got to meet the warmest people who were extremely generous with their time and affection.

The generosity of the culture could be best observed in the fact that despite being one of the most chaotic and commercial cities, Sao Paulo provided free and open access to all the cultural and social programming that was funded through a combination of public and private capital. Be it individual acts of shop owners forgiving the charge of a meal in exchange of a wonderful conversation or buildings becoming places of refuge for everyone and anyone, the trip rejuvenated my faith in the power of design.

In terms of my research on speculating the future of aging modernist buildings, It highlighted modernism as not a restrictive aesthetic but a reflection of an ethos of frugal innovation.